The Gamblers Heart
by dragonsprit
Summary: Clare falls out of love with Eli because she feel for Bianca what happens when Clare takes a risk to come out and go after the girl of her dreams will this gamble payoff or will this be the biggest mistake of her life?
1. Hiding the Real Me

**Welcome to my first new Degrassi story for the new year The Gamblers Heart this story has been in my plot book for a while and I thought it was the right for it. **

**This story does not have solid slot on my schedule as far as updates hence why I'm going to be flexible with this stories updates for the first couple chapters but I hope you stick with me I promise you wont regret it I do recommend for both new and returning that you alert this story to keep up also check out Degrassi Saviors. Com for an updated schedule.**

**Disclaimer**** I don't own Degrassi all characters belong to respective owners I only own the plot original characters and MMA team name. **

**Here are a few notes to keep in mind:**

**This is a Clare/Bianca story**

**Clare is a Junior**

**Bianca is living with Fiona and Imogen she has been living with them for four months since her aunt moved away in mid July.**

**Fiona and Imogen are engaged and living together Imogen moved from her dads house to Fiona's in August with Natalie's blessing.**

**Bianca dated Owen during the summer but they broke up just before school started and are still friends, she never dated Drew but they are friends**

**I took creative license with a few ships.**

**Drew is engaged to Katie since the end of junior year she never dated Jake the rest will be explained in story this starts the first week of October**

**A/n All long stories that were suspended are scheduled to resume this week.**

Chapter 1 Hiding the Real Me

Clare Edwards was your typical high school junior she came from a fairly normal home her mother Helen divorced her father shortly after her sophomore year of high school and she ended up married to an old friend of the family.

Glen Martin was a contractor the Edwards family had known for a while shortly after Helen's divorce she began dating Glen and in what seemed like a whirlwind romance Helen married Glen which also meant Glen's son Jake had become Clare's stepbrother.

It took Clare a while to get used to the idea of her mother being remarried but she eventually came to accept her new family dynamic with her father now in Seattle with his new wife and a new step father she learned to just roll with the punches and move on.

To people who knew Clare they saw a put together overachieving straight A writer but that perception of Clare was the one she wanted everyone to see in reality Clare was a distraught mess who didn't know who she was anymore all because a well hidden secret that she had kept since the end of last year, that secret was that Eli no longer held the key to her heart in fact Clare had come to the realization that no guy would ever hold the key to her heart again that key now belonged to one Bianca DeSousa.

Clare didn't know how it happened but she had fallen head over heels for the raven hair dancer turned fighter but there were two problems one to Clare's knowledge Bianca was straight and she still had Eli to deal with and to be honest she didn't know how she would break up with Eli and deal with certain backlash that would come forget the fact that if she did manage to get Eli out of the way she still had the bigger problem of having to come out to her deeply devoted Christian mother which was going to be a monumental task.

Clare had gone back and fourth on how she was going to handle the situation of coming out as whole and to be honest she was leaning towards just trying to forget the whole and go on living a lie after all she thought life would be easier even if she did have to lie to herself to make that happen.

Since Helen and Glen were out until Friday night and Jake was out with Mo and would most likely be staying over it would give Clare some time to get her thoughts together.

Clare had been doing a lot of research on how to come out by reading blogs and articles on the subject she had even decided to watch a few documentaries on the subject online.

Since it was still early and she had already eaten dinner Clare decided to go through another set of blogs she had been going through blogs for a few months now and each told of different reactions people had received ranging from parents who already knew and were waiting for their children to come out to parents who were devastated by the news and either sent their children to "straight camps" or just tossed them out on the street all together.

After two hours of combing through blogs Clare came across one blog about a teenage girl who grew up in a Christian family much like Clare's who had come out to her family and been thrown out and forced to fend for herself on the streets until she was adopted by her best friends family which turned out to be good for her because with their help she was able to get away from her parents and live her life the way she wanted and more importantly she no longer had to hide who she was.

After reading the blog Clare came across an online link to a documentary about coming out which dealt with a girl who lived in Edmonton who hid the fact she was a lesbian from her parents until just before the start of senior year in high school she had been with her girlfriend since Sophomore year of high school but she hid the relationship from her parents up until senior year when the girls girlfriend helped her find the courage to come out and go chase their dreams together in New York.

At the end of the video there was a small message in the end credits which read **"The journey to happiness starts with one single step."**

After seeing that quote something in Clare just clicked she decided that the only way she could truly begin her journey to happiness was to come out.

After finishing the documentary Clare decided that she needed to take the first step in her plan to truly be free which was breaking up with Eli no matter how painful that conversation was going to be it was one that needed to be had for Clare to be able to begin the journey to uncovering her true self.

As she walked into her bedroom she laid in bed thinking to herself how this was one of the last nights she would be living with this mask of lies.

The next morning Clare woke up feeling different she couldn't explain it she felt like today was the start of the rest of her life, she had awoke at 7 like she did on any normal school made her bed and took her morning shower and decided to make herself Eggs and bacon for breakfast.

Since it wasn't too cold out Clare wore a pair of black jeans with a purple long sleeve sweater and black boots.

After enjoying her breakfast Clare gathered up her bag and keys locked the door and headed off, she decided to walk alone today instead of walking with Alli and Jenna to mentally prepare for the storm she was going to create which in truth made her a bit uneasy and the only thing keeping her from backing out of her plan was thinking about the big picture goal this mornings events were supposed to help her accomplish.

When Clare finally made it to Degrassi she noticed Alli Jenna Eli and Adam hanging in front of the school steps she found it odd that the Becky was not with Adam those two had been on the fast track to a relationship at least as far as she knew but than again Clare was never one to meddle in Adams love life.

As she walked over to the group by the steps she was greeted by Jenna and Alli who were the first to notice Clare's presence.

"Hey Clare." Jenna and Alli greeted in unison.

"Hey guys could you give me a sec I need to talk to Eli."

"No problem Clare but let me snap them out of their comic haze their something you should know." Jenna said happily as she walked over to Adam tapped him on the shoulder and abducted his lips.

"Hey Marie no fair you agreed not to do that during morning comic time." Adam whined as Jenna pulled away also causing Eli to look up.

Adam was the one of the few people that she allowed to use her middle name which to her sounded sweet when he said it.

"I said no such thing and I needed a sure fire way to get your attention".

"Hey Edwards when did you get here?" Eli greeted.

"Just a bit ago listen we need to talk for a sec but first I need to find out what just happened between my best friend and one of my closest female friends."

No problem Ill just finish my comic here."

"Clare I'd like you to meet my boyfriend Adam Torres."

"When did this happen I thought Adam was going to end up with Becky?"

"To answer your question Clare I was never I was never going after Becky my eye had always been on Jenna we just kept it quiet for the past three months."

"Wow well congrats guys now if you'll excuse me I have to talk to Eli."

"Eli would you mind sitting by the tables to talk?"

"Of course not blue eyes lead the way."

As Clare and Eli made the short trip to the tables Clare was starting stress and rethink her actions, after a few short breaths she was able to sit down across from Eli.

"So Clare whats up?"

"Well Eli there's no easy way to say this so I'm going to just say it."

"Clare what are you trying to say?"

"Eli we need to break up."

Eli was incensed at Clare's statement but had enough composure left to try to convince Clare to stay with him.

"Clare why do you want to break up was it something I did or said?"

"No Eli it wasn't you its me."

"What do you mean Clare?"

"Eli as hard as this is to believe for you I don't have the same feelings I once did I hope you'll understand." Clare said as she stood up preparing to walk away but just before she could leave Eli got up and pushed her against the table.

"Tell me Clare who are you cheating on me with?" Eli snarled as he grabbed Clare by the neck.

"Eli this is wrong stop it you're hurting me."

"Tell me who it is bitch."

Clare cried as Eli released his grip on Clare's neck and slapped her.

"Eli all I'm going to tell you is that I feel for a girl it wasn't something you did it just happened."

"You feel for a girl and you want to leave me then fine leave me you bitch but I swear if I see you with her or find out who she is I will make your life hell." Eli snapped.

"Oh but before I leave here's something to remember me by.

Eli took his skull ring from his pocket put it on his right hand and punched Clare in the face causing a cut to open up as she feel to the ground.

"Oh and you can have this too."

Eli kicked Clare right in the ribs.

No one happen to see Clare fall because the bell rang and students rushed inside so Clare held her side attempting to get up only after Eli left.

Once Clare was inside she ran to the girls washroom to rinse her lip check on her ribs and clean her face luckily for her since the period had just started the washroom was empty so she would be able to avoid anyone seeing her and asking questions.

With her minor injuries taken care of Clare lifted her shirt and checked her ribs she noticed that she had a black and blue forming not to mention a stinging feeling in her side hopefully it was just bruised ribs and she could ice them down later she couldn't deal with the million questions that would her way if she actually had broken ribs.

After fixing herself Clare made her way to her first class which was journalism as she walked in she noticed Ms Oh wasn't in the room and the class was being run by a sub, she signed the attendance sheet and got her assignment out which was an article on how the media uses subliminal messaging in advertising.

Since this was an elective course Clare didn't have Jenna Alli Connor around til next period when they all met up for math.

Clare tried to concentrate on writing her essay but the pain in her ribs was too much she asked to be excused from so she could go to the nurse, the sub just let her go seeing as their was only ten minutes left in class to begin with.

Clare gathered her things and made her way to the nurse.

Once she got there Clare explained she had fallen on her way to school and bruised her ribs the nurse gave her a mild pain reliever and sent her off to class.

As Clare made her way to her next class she ran into Eli who cornered her by a row of lockers.

"Hey freak how are you after our chat?" Eli snapped.

"Eli leave me alone."

"Oh Clare you dump me because you say you've got feelings for a girl well if you think I'm going to leave you alone you're stupider than I thought."

Eli I mean it leave me alone or Ill.."

"You'll what tell Simpson and risk being outed I don't think you want Helen finding out that you are a lesbian do you, after all your mom is religious and it would crush her to know that her daughter is turning her back on her morals."

Clare didn't know what to say she knew as vile as Eli was acting he did have a valid point Helen would flip if she found out from the school Clare was a lesbian.

"Eli even you wouldn't out me to my mother would you?"

"Clare you should know me better than that I want to enjoy toying with it's too much fun knowing I alone could make your life hell as payback for leaving me, so for now Ill leave you alone but know Ill be watching you." Eli said as he walked past Clare looked back and smiled evilly.

After her encounter with Eli Clare couldn't stand being at school she had to get out and go somewhere she could be away from Eli.

Clare noticed that he next class was already fifteen minutes in she knew if she wanted to get away but not fall behind in class she had to convince Adam to cover for her the rest of the day, she sent him a quick text to meet her by her locker and waited for a response she made sure to be as vague as possible with the details.

A few minutes later Clare got her response from Adam saying he would meet her.

When Adam finally showed up he saw Clare looked shaken.

"Hey whats up why aren't you in class?"

"Adam listen I can't be here right now I have a lot on my plate can I trust you to hand my assignments in and take good notes I have to get out of here."

"Clare whats going on this isn't you?"

"Adam just do this for me please I need to clear my head." Clare said starting to get nervous.

"Ill do whatever you need but can I at know whats going on here?"

"I wish I could tell you Adam but I cant not now."

Alright whatever this is must be big just give me your stuff and Ill hand it in go get your head straight."

"Ill try thanks I owe you." Clare said as she handed Adam her assignments gave him a hug and headed for her locker.

Clare grabbed her stuff and took the back way out of the school once she was outside she walked down a block away from the school and tried to think of somewhere she could go she thought of going to the ravine but didn't want to risk anything crazy happening to her so she settled on heading for the Dot it should be fairly empty now since the breakfast rush had to have cleared by now.

As Clare walked toward the Dot she thought about what happen to her over the past couple of days and wondered if everything she was putting herself through would end up being worth it than she thought of all the documentaries she had seen where each one said no matter how hard the road seemed at first it would all be worth it in the end.

Clare walked into the Dot and ordered a peppermint tea to calm her nerves as she waited for her order she noticed an unexpected guest walk in it was none other than Emma Nelson.

Clare had heard about Emma still being in the area but didn't know how often she was around after picking up her tea Clare headed over to Emma who had sat down to read the paper.

"Excuse me Emma?"

"Yes can I help you?"

"Well I don't know if remember me but I'm Clare Edwards Darcy's sister."

"Yeah I remember you shouldn't you be in class right now?"

"I should but I'm not I can't handle school right now."

"Anything you wanna talk about?"

"Actually yeah but I don't want to dump my problems on you."

"Forget it I'm all ears."

"Alright well I was dating this guy and things were going great but over he last few months I felt like we just didn't click anymore and he wasn't who I wanted so I broke up with him and he hit me but the worse part is I like someone else and I wont be able to tell them because of all the problems it'll cause at home and all the problems its already caused me at Degrassi."

"Well Clare you did the right thing by walking away from that relationship but just out of curiosity why cant you talk to your new crush?"

"Well for one my crush is a girl and even if something were to happen between us my mom would flip since shes super religious and two if I get turned down by my crush Ill never be able to show my face at Degrassi again because my ex will out me and make my life hell."

"Well if you ever need someone to talk to you have me as well as Spinner I married him a while back and we live not to far from here take our numbers and call us anytime you need us no matter how late it is."

Clare stored both numbers in her phone just as she sipped on her tea.

Clare don't be afraid to be yourself I think what you did was brave but you should report your ex for hitting you."

"I cant do that Emma he threaten to out me if I did."

"Clare don't worry if you decide to report him Ill back you up now finish your tea you spend the day with me at my job I work at the nature reserve office downtown Ill take care of school for you."

"Thanks Emma this means a lot."

"No problem Clare I've seen first hand how hard coming out can be."

After Clare finished her drink she followed Emma out and for the first time all day she felt like the gamble she was taking was worth it.


	2. When Water becomes blood

**I'm back with another story update but I'm back on a limited basis so updates will take a bit longer than normal thanks for sticking with me.**

**Readers Advisory a term in this chapter used that is offensive but it is only being used for story purposes, this author does not condone the free use of this term to offend in any way.**

Chapter2 When Water becomes Blood

Bianca was slowly starting to put her life back together after her aunt Juliana decided she didn't want to be responsible for her anymore forcing her to find a new place to live, at first Bianca wasn't sure about how she was going to find a place to stay apartments in Toronto weren't exactly cheap not to mention landlords weren't exactly eager to rent to a high school senior with a sorted past and she didn't want to ask Owen who she was dating at the time Juliana kicked her out and moved away.

Bianca had been couch surfing in the days after she was kicked out and debated caving and asking Owen to put in a word for her with his parents but that idea went up in smoke when the two ended their short but enjoyable romantic relationship because it strained their friendship almost to the point of being permanently damaged.

After breaking up with Owen Bianca developed a strong friendship with Fiona and Imogen which not only helped Bianca recover from her breakup but also saved her friendship with Owen and get over he hurt of having her aunt walk away from her.

The bond was also beneficial for Fiona as well as Imogen who had grown a bit more assertive because of Bianca who helped Fiona and Imogen talk to Natalie about moving in together shortly after Fiona proposed to Imogen.

Fiona had come to think of Bianca like a sister who would always look out for you and be there when you needed someone to tell you what you needed to hear with no filter even if it hurt and that was something Fiona needed in her life, she loved Imogen but Imogen didn't have that certain something that allowed her to turn off the friendly loving side of her and be neutral and stern when hard topics came up and Fiona need to be laid into with no apologies.

Bianca often thought of Fiona as a big sister because she would be there to pick Bianca up and be a sounding board and an ear when she needed to just vent, the time spent with Fiona also allowed her to embrace more of her softer side, the bond between the three had grown to the point that just as Fiona and Imogen allowed Bianca to express her softer side she showed both Fiona and Imogen to embrace their tough side.

A couple weeks after Bianca was out on her own Fiona asked Laura if Bianca could move into the loft since she had nowhere else to which after thinking about the affect having Bianca around had on Fiona she agreed to let Bianca move in.

Just before school started again Bianca had gotten in contact with her old MMA coach who was in part responsible for helping cultivate Bianca's tough side and teaching her how to channel all of her pent up anger into a positive outlet and started training with her again after she found out she was forming an MMA team at her new gym called the Red Dragons, Bianca jumped at the chance to get back to one of her passions which led to her recruiting Drew and Katie who used martial arts as a way to build focus Drew and Katie getting involved led Bianca to recruit Owen who had a passion for MMA after seeing it on TV and falling in love with the sport.

Once the trio started training seriously on whim Fiona and Imogen decided to stop by one day and check out why Bianca was so in love with the sport surprisingly Fiona found MMA helped her release nervous energy that would sometimes cause to panic and bring out her urge drink meanwhile Imogen feel for it because it helped her express hidden emotions she had inside from her father's declining health which at times was a lot for her to handle.

Towards the end of the summer Cassie the Red Dragon coach had seen enough from the team to enter them in the Grand Warrior cup tournament which was one of MMA's showcase events especially for new teams despite being a show case event on the independent MMA scene it was the perfect place for the team to get some buzz going.

The team was in luck they had time to prepare for the tournament because the event wasn't until the beginning of November everyone had time to train.

For the next couple of weeks the entire team went into hardcore training Owen and Drew had a fairly easy task of making weight since they kept to their football playing weights of 170 and 185 Bianca and Katie had to help Fiona and Imogen get down to their limits because they were both new to weight cutting, they agreed that Imogen would compete in the 125 division while Fiona would compete in the 135 pound division Katie took her normal weight class slot at 145 from Thai Quan Do while Bianca moved up a class to the 155 division to avoid a potential fight with Katie.

Training was going great with the tournament only a couple weeks away and the team rounding into form Bianca went to pack her training bag and join the rest of the team for an early morning workout before class started she noticed a man in a black suit walking towards on her while she walked outside.

"Good morning are you Bianca DeSousa?"

"Who wants to know?"

I'm Henry Connors I was hired by Bianca's aunt and told to deliver this envelope to her personally."

"Well in that case I am her here's my ID."

After checking Bianca's ID the man handed Bianca the envelope.

"Ms. DeSousa inside this envelope are documents that inform you of your aunts decision to renounce her guardianship rights and allow you to either find someone to take these rights or to make you a child of the court and allow them to seek proper placement for you."

Bianca was shocked her aunt was legally giving her away and letting her find a place for herself or risk being put in the foster system.

"Okay so let me get this straight my aunt hired you to give me papers that allow me to be adopted or go into the foster system?"

"That is the simple version yes."

"So all I have to do is get someone to adopt me and Juliana will leave me just like that?" Bianca asked while she started making her way towards her car which was parked a few blocks from the loft.

"Yes but I should inform you that if you find a willing caretaker there is also the matter of a slightly large amount of money left to you by an uncle that only becomes yours if you are adopted."

"Can I have some time to go over all this?"

Of course my contact information is on the cover-page of the documents call me when you make a decision."

After the man left Bianca put the envelope in her glove box and made her way towards the gym.

As Bianca made her way towards the gym which was only five blocks from Degrassi she slowly wrapped her head around what she had been told Juliana was actually giving her up and allowing her to choose where she ended up.

Once Bianca pulled up to the gym she took one more look at the envelope and right as she was opening her door an idea hit her like a ton of bricks but for it to work she was going to need to convince certain people to make life altering decisions.

Bianca walked into the gym and noticed Fiona rolling Imogen on the mats while Owen and Drew were having a sparring session in the ring and Katie was over by the heavy bag with Cassie working on her kicks.

Bianca put her stuff down and walked over to the mats where Fiona had Imogen setup for an arm triangle choke.

Once Bianca saw Imogen tap to the move she went to Fiona.

"Hey Fiona can we talk outside for a bit?"

"Sure Bianca what's up?"

Fiona got up and followed Bianca outside.

"So what's up B?"

"Well before I got here this morning I ran into a lawyer who was hired by my aunt and he gave me an envelope and told me something I wasn't expecting."

"What was it?"

"My aunt gave up her guardianship rights and is allowing me to choose what happens to me."

Fiona was stunned at what she just heard she couldn't believe what Bianca was saying to her.

"So have you looked at the papers yet?"

"Not yet I was coming to talk to you first because I have an idea what I want to do."

"I'll help anyway I can."

"Great that makes me feel a little better about asking you this and I want to do it before I lose my nerve so here it goes would you be cool with me asking your mom to adopt me?"

Bianca waited for Fiona's answer hoping that she didn't just set herself up to be disappointed.

After a few moments Bianca decided to resign herself to the fact that she would be going into the foster system and walk back into the gym defeated when all of a sudden she felt herself being pulled forward engulfed in a hug.

"What's this for Fiona?"

"This is me saying yes you can ask my mom to adopt you I've always wondered what it would be like to have a sister I'll even help you talk to my mom after school."

"Thanks that means a lot hopefully your mom feels the same way."

Fiona and Bianca walked back into the gym and got in a quick workout before leaving for class lucky everyone on the team had a spare first period.

Meanwhile at Degrassi Clare was sitting in drama trying to keep herself from going crazy she had been spending the last week struggling with how to come out to her family and how she was almost sure she was writing her own ticket out of her house and on to the street the minute Helen found out she was gay and if that wasn't bad enough Clare also had to worry about Eli who was hell bent on making Clare's life hell, ever since Clare broke up with Eli it seemed like he went out of his way to make it clear he wasn't going to stop until Clare was completely broken and hated herself.

Clare made it through her first three classes without breaking but once the lunch bell rang and she walked towards the café to meet up with Adam Jenna and Alli she got a not so welcome surprise on her locker in big red spray painted letters was the word dyke scrolled across her locker Clare immediately broke down crying after seeing the word sprayed across her locker unluckily for her Maya saw her crying on the ground.

"Excuse me Clare are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm I'd like to be left alone." Clare sobbed not wanting to be around anyone at the moment.

"Well I would leave you but you look upset."

"Just leave me alone Maya it's nothing."

"Clare I know we barely know each other but you look like you need a friend now what's wrong?"

Clare noticed Maya wasn't going to take no for an answer so she decided to let her in a bit.

"Take a look at my locker."

Maya looked up at the locker and was shocked she had heard of things like this happening from going to an LGBT meeting with Tristan on weekends but never thought she would see the damage one word could cause up close.

"Clare you've got let Simpson know about this it isn't right."

"I can't do that it would get me in trouble and just get worse."

"Clare I know you're scared but if you don't do something about this now this could end up being really bad for you I've heard what happens to people in your situation they hold it in until they snap I don't want that to happen to you."

"Thanks Maya it's nice to know that someone cares."

"Anytime Clare let's get you cleaned up and go to Simpson."

The girls went to the washroom after which they informed Simpson about the incident at Clare's locker which resulted in an emergency locker search and assembly taking place.

After the assembly and locker search students were dismissed for a proper investigation and action plan that needed to put into place to protect the students.

Later that afternoon Clare walked out of Degrassi with Alli Jenna and Adam. The trio noticed that Clare was looking over her shoulder after every block to Adams and he decided to check on her.

"Clare are you alright you've been jumpy all day."

I'm fine Adam really and I think I'll see you guys at school I just want to get home and relax after all the craziness earlier."

"You sure you're okay Clare?"

"I'm sure Adam I'll see you guys later." Clare said as she split off from her friends and made her way home thinking that after what she had been through today with the locker incident with Eli she needed to rid herself of the weight she felt because of her secret and tell her family she was gay and put up with the consequences.

Once she got home she noticed her mom was working from home for the afternoon Clare thought she should just get it over with and just figure out the rest later.

"Mom can we talk?"

"Sure Clare what is it?"

"Mom there's something I need to tell you and I'm not sure how you'll take it."

"Clare I'm mother just tell me."

"Mom I broke up with Eli."

"Well that's wonderful Clare now you can date a boy more suited for you."

"Mom that's just it I don't want to date anymore boys."

"Clare what are you saying?"

"Mom I'm a lesbian."

"Clare Diana Edwards get the hell out of here I will not have a lesbian in my home".

Clare went up to her room packed a duffel bag and left home knowing she would no longer have a home there.

Once Clare was on the street it hit her she didn't have a place to go on instinct she pulled her phone out and called the only person she could think would be able to help her at a time like this.

"Hello Emma."

"Hey Clare what's up?"

"I just came out to my mom and she threw me out and now I don't have a place to stay."

"Clare where are you now?"

I'm headed to the Dot."

"I'll leave work now and go get you don't worry."

"Emma you don't have to do that."

"Clare I want to and I'm going to its no problem, now go wait at the Dot I think Peter is working there today."

"Thanks Emma you're a life saver."

Clare ended the call and headed towards the Dot knowing that this was only a small step towards really being herself.

Clare entered the Dot and went right to counter where Peter was just dealing with an unruly costumer once he squared the costumer he acknowledged Clare.

"Hey Clare what can I get you?"

Just a water and corn muffin I'm waiting for Emma here if that's okay."

"Sure its slowing down here anyway I'll be back in a sec."

"Peter grabbed a muffin buttered it and warm it up and after grabbing a water bottle from the back he handed it to Clare.

"$2.75 Clare."

"Thanks Peter."

"Anytime Clare."

Peter noticed that Clare was upset but didn't press the issue because he had to restock above the Dot before he left but made sure to reach out to Clare later via Emma.

Peter still cared for Clare even if it had been ages since he'd spent any time around her the bond he shared with Darcy was still with him and he knew Darcy would want him to keep Clare safe.

Half hour later Emma walked into the Dot seeing Clare gazing at passerby's she walked over Clare without scaring her.

"Clare I'm here."

"Oh hey Emma thanks for doing this."

"No problem Clare I told you I'd be here for you don't worry about having a place to stay you can stay with Spinner and me we have an extra room at our place we'll figure this out."

"I hope so Emma after the day I've had I could use some good news."

"I heard what happen at Degrassi I'm sorry for that no one should have to go through that ever."

"Thanks Emma it helps but I just can't stay with you and Spinner forever you both have lives."

"Clare don't worry about that I'll talk to Spin and see what happens just know as long as I'm around you'll be safe now let's get out of here I'll make you something at home Spinner doesn't get off work until later we'll just relax."

Emma thanked Peter for watching Clare and promised to call him later to fill him in but for now her top priority was Clare.

Meanwhile Bianca and the rest of Red Dragon were finishing up a sparring session when Cassie called them over to her.

"Listen up guys I just got off with the organizers of the Grand Warrior Cup and fund out the event is being held at the grand ballroom in New York city so that means we need all our paper work in order and I need to bring in an extra coach so guys from here on out its training nonstop and Fiona since the big city are your old stomping grounds I'm putting you in charge of making sure the team stays on point that weekend that means while we're in New York Fiona is our point person after events.

Fiona was excited to be heading back to New York for a bit she missed the fast pace lifestyle New York offered but was also excited to show Imogen a taste of New York life before they moved there after graduation.

"Now as for the new coach I'm bringing in she is the best of the best at grappling and will really give us an edge since she is so disciplined allow me to introduce your grappling coach Anya MacPherson."

The team was shocked especially Owen he hadn't seen her since she left for the army.

Anya walked out on to the mats dressed in a black sweat suit with her hair tied back.

"Hey everyone now before we start let me say even though I am your coach in the gym out of the gym I am your friend don't be afraid to open up and I'll tell you guys right now I won't go easy on any of you no matter if we have a previous tie or not I'm all business in here, now I've seen tape of you guys from earlier this summer I'm impressed but we can get better for today I think you guys have done enough go rest up but be ready to go hard from here on out I want finished fights no judges needed now get outta here I'll see you guys later."

Once the team was dismissed Anya pulled Cassie to the side and told her about her past with Owen which she accepted but made it clear it wasn't to interfere with their training or she would be gone.

After assuring her it wouldn't Anya left the gym and headed home even if she wanted to hide it she knew Owen was a big part of the reason she came into coach the team some days she held out hope the two could somehow rekindle their old spark in some way.

Outside of the gym Fiona Bianca and Imogen made their way to Laura's office to see if she would adopt Bianca.

"Fiona do you think your mom will go for this?"

"Bianca after she reads those papers I'm sure she will after even Drew Katie and Owen told you it was going to happen and even if she decides not to neither one of us will let you go into foster care we're here for you."

"Thanks Fiona that means a lot."

The trio pulled up to Laura's office a short time later and went up the fifth floor of the office building with envelope in hand.

"I hope this works Fiona."

"It will Bianca just chill."

The trio knocked on the door and went in.

Laura looked up from her work and noticed the girls.

"Hey girls this is a surprise what brings you here?"

"Mom Bianca got an envelope from her aunt saying she was giving up guardianship of Bianca and was allowing her to choose what happen to her and she was hoping you could adopt her."

Laura was stunned at what she had been told she took the envelope from Bianca opened it and looked over the papers after going through them she was ready to tell Bianca what she decided.

"Bianca after looking through the papers and thinking about it I've decided I'll be more than happy to make you a Coyne."

Bianca couldn't believe what she had just been told she was finally going to get the chance to have a mom in her life and she was finally going to be able to understand what people meant when people told her sometimes water can become blood.

**The next update will be up ASAP but I will tell you Peter isn't the only Degrassi alum showing up.**


End file.
